David Moyes picked a 4-4-1-1 side with few surprises. Marouane Fellaini was suspended so Johnny Heitinga played in the centre of midfield. Louis Saha was given the nod upfront ahead of Jermaine Beckford and Yakubu.

No major news from Arsene Wenger’s starting XI either. Samir Nasri was chosen ahead of Theo Walcott on the right, Jack Wilshere kept his place in the centre, Johan Djourou and Sebastien Squillaci were at centre-back because of Thomas Vermaelen’s injury and Laurent Koscielny’s suspension.

Everton started strongly, having more possession and taking the game to Arsenal early on. Heitinga played surprisingly high up the pitch – when Everton had the ball he advanced ahead of Fabregas and was often battling with Alex Song and Wilshere.

Arsenal eventually settled down and had an increasing proportion of the possession as the first half went on. Andrei Arshavin barely featured on the left flank and instead played an inside-left position, drifting across the pitch in behind Heitinga.

Everton vulnerable down left

There were basically two key features of this game. The first was the situation down Everton’s left-hand side, which is both their biggest strength going forward, and their greatest weakness when defending. This starts from Steven Pienaar’s habit of moving inside into the centre of the pitch, not unlike Arshavin. Usually, he plays from out to in and makes diagonal runs towards goal, but today he seemed almost permanently stationed as an ‘interiore’ – much like Ji-Sung Park’s positioning in recent weeks. Leighton Baines, of course, then has space to exploit on the flank, and Samir Nasri tracked him well.

The problem, however, is that it leaves Baines exposed on that side, because not only is Pienaar playing very narrow, he’s not particularly hard-working or disciplined out of possession – in this sense, unlike Park. As a result, Arsenal were constantly dangerous down this flank – early on Arsenal had a chance when Nasri had thirty yards to run into towards goal, before Sylvain Distin dealt with him well.

Arsenal focus passing down that side

It is notable how many of Arsenal’s passes were down that flank, as if it was a deliberate strategy to get at Baines – there has rarely been such an obvious pattern in Arsenal’s approach this season. Bacary Sagna got forward well throughout the game, and scored a rare goal to put Arsenal in the lead. A surprise in that it was only his second goal in English football, but perhaps not a surprise when considering Everton’s weakness on that side. Another right-back scored from a similar position earlier in the season against Everton – Luke Young, when he ghosted past Pienaar and scored the only goal in Aston Villa’s 1-0 win over Everton.

The contrast from the other side of the pitch is remarkable, where nominal right-back Seamus Coleman gives Phil Neville excellent protection.

Deep defence

The second issue from the game was how deep Everton’s defence sat. This is generally the best way to play against Arsenal, to guard against their pace in behind, but it did mean that Wenger’s side were given a huge about of space between the lines at points, especially with Heitinga (and his replacement Jack Rodwell) playing high up the pitch.

Consider Nasri’s early run at Distin, and also Denilson’s unchecked run to create the second goal for Fabregas – right down the centre of the pitch to the edge of the area – and it’s clear Everton’s defence was sitting too deep – or at least, too deep without a player directly ahead of the defence to get tackles in. Indeed, Denilson’s run for the second goal was not dissimilar to the nature of two of Cesc Fabregas’ runs in the corresponding fixture last season – at 3:45 here.

Other factors

For a side that is so good in possession, Arsenal yet again showed an inability to retain the ball and kill the game off late on. This has cost them once already this season, at Sunderland (granted, that was with ten men) but they somehow let Everton back into the game with sloppy passing. Fabregas gave the ball away far too often, as did Denilson: surprising given that simple, reliable passing is the Brazilian’s main strength.

Set-pieces was also a cause for concern – Fabianski got lucky towards the end of the first half when a far post header hit him on the head (although overall he played well) and the late goal came after a set-piece through Cahill, who has an excellent record against Arsenal.

Conclusion

Everton were suspect down their left, and defended too deep – these two factors can (in part) explain both the goals that were conceded.

Arsenal defended well throughout – Johan Djourou had a good game – but Everton always looked like getting back into it late on. Still, Arsenal successfully exploited Baines’ vulnerability and Pienaar’s slack positioning, playing predominantly down the right.

32 Responses to “ Everton 1-2 Arsenal: two main points of interest ”

teezee09 on November 14, 2010 at 5:07 pm

My exact thoughts. Great Anaysis. Arsenal exploited their left flank very well.

steve on November 14, 2010 at 6:53 pm

delighted with the win but it is extraordinary how teams arsenal can look so completely out of sight with 20 minutes to go, then so vulnerable 10 minutes later. teams we’re beating look like they’ve given up one minute, then believe they’re gonna get something.

it’s crazy, but true, that we need a 3 goal lead to be confident of winning a match that’s entering stoppage time. i know man u lost a 2 goal lead at goodison in injury time, but that came out of nowhere – whereas it wouldn’t have been at all surprising to see everton equalise.

our ball retention is excellent between the 60 minute and 78 minute mark, then it descends into complete chaos. if we had let that lead slip today it would have been so unfair on the defence, all 5 of whom i thought were great (except for the customary clichy ‘moment’). all their hard work would have been undone, but it would not have been their fault. thankfully it didn’t happen today, but it might well happen again and it could be so costly.

i think what arsenal need to do is really push for the third when they’ve got the opposition on the rack. we let everton back in it today because we were to aimless with our passing at 2-0. it’s all good keeping possession and tiring them out, but no almost no effort was made to score a third. if a third goal is needed to make the game safe, why not go for it when you’re completely on top, then pass sideways?

all that said though, it’s a great win and another battling performance – it seems like we’re battling ourselves as well as the opposition at times, but there’s no faulting the determination and desire to win

grizzly on November 15, 2010 at 4:12 am

Arsenal’s possession has definitely left a lot to be desired in recent games and unfortunately its been the fault of Arsenal’s stars as much as that of the club’s roll-players. Song and Wilshere have played the bulk of the minutes in the midfield recently, and i think their inexperience is in part to blame. Both are still very much a work in progress and hopefully learn more each week about how ambitious their passes can be. But it doesn’t help that Cesc hasn’t been in form, or that EPL center backs are having more success in dealing with Chamakh, which was to be predicted as they learned more about him and saw him operate in games more. Hopefully those two turn around their recent form soon.

Lastly, i seriously question the shape Arsene has this club playing. Frankly, i think Cesc has to be part of the front 3- Arsenal is left too exposed with only 2 midfielders that take their defending seriously. Yes, Cesc’s made some aggressive tackles in recent games, but he also doesn’t completely commit to defending on too many occasions.

David on November 15, 2010 at 4:36 am

Nasri is a good defender (remember we even played him in defensive midfield for a few games a while ago), and Wenger also plays Eboue out wide in tough away games. Rosicky also has a good work rate. Basically if you look at the classic Arsenal side of 5-10 years ago, you only had the two central midfielders + a winger (Ljungberg) who worked hard defensively. The three other attackers – Henry, Bergkamp, and Pires – were only really involved in pressing. It’s not like Pires and Bergkamp had significantly better work rates than Arshavin and Fabregas (who, in fairness, is still not 100% match fit and seems to be tiring more quickly than normal).

grizzly on November 15, 2010 at 8:56 pm

Nasri’s biggest contributions- when it comes to defending- also come in the opponents half when he’s pressing to get the ball back quickly.

And the classic Arsenal side you talk about had a flatter back 4. Arsene encourages the wingbacks to go forward more today and the team would benefit immensely if it could rely on its wingbacks to both maintain possession more often and contribute to goals regularly as well (Clichy’s assist vs. West Ham and Sagna’s goal vs. Everton were immense but they are unlikely to be repeated anytime soon).

Having 3 midfielders truly committed to defending would allow the wingbacks to attack more freely when the opportunity presents itself. It also allows for more fluidity as the responsibility of defending is shared by more people. Song, Diaby, Wilshere love to get forward so there’s no risk of losing attacking ambition or aggression.

Jayanth on November 14, 2010 at 7:24 pm

Arsenal look to work more on the right since the two people who play as right wingers are on form as of now. Nasri is hard working and creative while Walcott can terrorise defences with his pace. On the other flank Arshavin looks to move to the centre as mentioned on ZM and tends to exchange passes with Wilshere and Fabregas. Also Sagna links up very well with Nasri which is why Arsenal’s attack from the right is more organized and prominent. On the other hand, Clichy for all his pace does not link up well with Arshavin, so the converse.

But all said and done, Arsenal’s front 4 are very fluid and can take up any position to create chances. That’s why they are so good to watch.

Cheers.

Sublime on November 14, 2010 at 8:33 pm

The source of the problem regarding the harmony between left and right lies primarily on Clichy’s transformation from potentially world class wing back to the Mr Bean of the Premier League. Add to that the combination of the defensively minded Neville and an in-form Coleman who has the energy level to function as a returner and an advanced winger simultaneously and you’re clearly not going to have any joy down the left, that’s without getting into the enigma of Andrei Arshavin. We just fail to link up down that side consistently.

To be fair this statistic was unique, our recent preference to shift the ball right has been predominantly due to the form of Walcott rather than the lack of options provided by Clichy and Arshavin, who admittedly have put in some good shifts on that side this season.

I expect a similar summary of the Sp*rs game, we take control of the game, turn Assou-Ekotto inside out for 70 minutes then allow them back into the game as we stand-off their wide players and allow them to cross the ball too often.

Anonymous on November 15, 2010 at 3:25 pm

“our recent preference to shift the ball right has been predominantly due to the form of Walcott” who has started 4 games on the right and been subbed in four times? I think in place of “Walcott” you meant to say “Nasri”, who has started on the right 7 times including 5 out of the last 7 EPL games – he was on the left against Newcastle and the bench against Wolves.

Unknown on November 14, 2010 at 8:49 pm

I know this is not specifically related to this game, but I think you (ZonalMarking, that is) might find this article an interesting read:

van Persie can definitely play on the wing. that was his usual position for the Netherlands under van Basten. in the 4-2-3-1 system it’s easy for strikers to play out wide, more so than than in a 4-4-2 – look at Bendtner last season. he played a lot of games as a right winger. and van Persie is a lot more suited to an attacking midfield role than Bendtner.

Yes for the Netherlands I guess he did a few years ago, but he’s not played there for Arsenal as far as I’m aware. I think he’s best as the focal point of a front three, he’s better as a target man than he’s given credit for. And yes Bendtner has played OK right wing, I think sometimes Wenger uses this ploy if he can exploit the fullback’s (lack of) height.

this is one of the best things i have seen on the net (zm aside of course)
i think i’ve fallen in love with her (as well as zm obviously)

mlyons on November 14, 2010 at 11:49 pm

Any thoughts on why Arteta was so anonymous? He’s been a little off-form recently, but I would have expected him to have a decent day today against a midfield who would give him a little more time on the ball than Bolton or Stoke. For me, the real story of the match wasn’t the play down Everton’s left/Arsenal’s right, but how poorly Heitinga, Arteta, and Rodwell (until the shift in formation) played.

His baby is giving him a rough time during the nights and he’s struggling to play well after sleepless nights .

David on November 15, 2010 at 4:45 am

Well I think Heitinga’s only problem was that he was wound up and committed 3 fouls in the first half. In general he seemed to take up good defensive positions and passed the ball well (or so I thought). With Arteta, I think it was mostly how Everton were playing (direct and down the flanks). If you look at his chalkboard, he attempted very few ambitious passes down the centre of the pitch (the two he attempted were both incomplete). Most of his passes were backwards or out towards the flanks. So maybe it was a conscious effort for him to play the “Denilson role”, as opposed to the “Fabregas role” and Moyes was purposely trying to get the ball out wide as much as possible – or maybe he just had a sluggish day.

One more thing regarding Pienaar – he usually has an excellent workrate and covers for Baines very well. Not sure what others would think about that, but I would reccomend looking at diagram and compare average position of the most advanced central midfielder – Cahill is positioned behind opposite’s DM and Fabregas is positioned between Heitinga and Arteta. It means that Cahill was basically playing as second striker and there’s possibility Pienaar was aften tucking in, trying to neutralize 3 vs 2 advantage Arsenal had there.
Not sure if it was supposed to happened that way, but my guess would be that Moyes was trying to use Pienaar to help in central midfield, hoping that Sagna will have one of his typical poor games offensively. Recently Clichy was much more dangerous offensively than Sagna (but the latter is much more solid defensively), so it wouldn’t really surprised me.

mlyons on November 15, 2010 at 3:29 am

The problem with average position charts is that they don’t really show what players with a high workrate are doing. This was one of Cahill’s high workrate days, and he tracked back well into the midfield when Arsenal had the ball; his average position doesn’t show that because he played level to or ahead of Saha when Everton had the ball. You see the same effect with Coleman, who was everywhere along Everton’s right flank.

Everton only scored because stupid Webb pulled Sagna who was marking Cahill then blew whistle straight away NOT giving him time to get in position. SO overall Arsenal was solid defensively

Ian Holloway on November 15, 2010 at 11:36 am

Bonjour, Monsieur Arsene!

Stephen on November 15, 2010 at 10:25 pm

I’m a Gunner fan too but cmon you’re being a tad ridiculous. Everton always looked like scoring during that period, it was deserved. Would you say the same thing when Arsenal gets scrappy goals off of strange circumstances? It’s happened enough times this season.

Chigurh on November 15, 2010 at 12:29 pm

Just as an aside, you can make youtube links go directly to a certain point in the video by adding “#t=[no. of mins]m+[no. of seconds]s”.

Has there been a better defender in the Premier League than Bacary Sagna this year? Ivanovic and Vidic are close, but Sagna has been spectacular IMO.

Prem on November 18, 2010 at 2:25 am

Well Sagna conceded the meaningless free kick against Newcastle that led to their goal. Basically Newcastle’s player was not going anywhere at that pt. and he tripped him. From the resulting kick Caroll scored the goal.

Nat93 on November 16, 2010 at 2:36 am

ZM is it okay if you can do the analysis for the Chelsea vs Sunderland game? It would be interesting to find out how Sunderland deafeated the Blues

Gregory on November 16, 2010 at 10:29 am

I thought Song played brilliantly and was mainly responsible for Everton’s lack of fluency in midfield as well as Arsenal’s defensive solidity. In addition to his usual duties he played higher up the pitch to compensate for Fabregas’ lack of form and even blocked crucial shots in central defense.
That said Arsenal were lucky with some refereeing decisions and Fabianski produced brilliant saves, it could have been a much tighter game.

Stephen on November 17, 2010 at 11:25 pm

Agreed about song, but not so much the “lucky” decisions.

People were making a lot of noise about Squillaci and Fabregas’ fouls. But watching a replay will show you:

1) Squillaci drove his man towards Djourou. Therefore even though he was the “furthest back” player, he was not in a “last man” situation.

2) Replays of the Fabregas foul shows that in fact it was Distin who inadvertently stamped on Fabregas. That is a foul on Fab for putting his foot in, but that doesn’t even merit a yellow card, much less the red some people are hooting for.